


Captain Steven Rogers: A History Through Art

by Pugglemuggle



Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Art History, Artist Steve Rogers, Dreamwidth, F/F, Fandom Meta - Freeform, M/M, Mixed Media, Multimedia, Original Character(s), Social Media, Tumblr, media fic, one use of an outdated and no longer politically correct term, vague mention of domestic violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2015-11-10
Packaged: 2018-04-30 22:29:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pugglemuggle/pseuds/Pugglemuggle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Excerpt from the speech of chief curator Virginia M. Mecklenburg at the opening banquet of the "Captain Steven Rogers: A History Through Art" Exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, January 5, 2012]</p><p>“Welcome to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It is my pleasure to introduce to you all an exhibit that has been many years in the making. So rarely are we presented with opportunities to join art and history in a union as perfect as this one. Though Captain Steven Rogers sacrificed his life for our country more than sixty years ago, his legacy lives on in history books, documentaries, independent films, and now, thanks to our generous donors, in galleries as well. His artwork provides us with a singular perspective of pre-war American society, as well as a unique window into the soul of the American hero himself...."</p><p>Or, the life of Steve Rogers as told by biographers, art historians, tumblr users, a very enthusiastically queer college student, and the artwork of Steve Rogers himself. [Art included]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. January/Februrary

**Author's Note:**

> This was written as a part of the 2015 [Marvel Universe Big Bang](http://marvel-bang.livejournal.com/).
> 
> I could never have even begun to think about doing this project without the help and support of my amazing artists. The masterposts of each of their contributions can be found below:
> 
> [Art Post](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5172140) by [HopelesslyDevotedGeek (wuzzy90)](http://archiveofourown.org/users/wuzzy90/pseuds/HopelesslyDevotedGeek).  
> [Art Post](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5168489) by [Lets_call_me_Lily](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_call_me_Lily/pseuds/Lets_call_me_Lily).  
> [Art Post](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5095133) by [Winterstar](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterstar/pseuds/Winterstar).  
> [Art Post](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5083783) by [taibhrigh](http://archiveofourown.org/users/taibhrigh/pseuds/taibhrigh).
> 
> In addition, [thingswithwings](http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/) was kind enough to give me permission to quote their post on [Mr. Rogers' Gaybourhood](http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/213805.html). If you haven't already read it, I highly recommend you check it out!
> 
> I've also inserted some footnotes at various points throughout the fic. Don't worry about losing your place if you click a footnote—each one is equipped with a 'return to text' link that will take you back to the same place you were at before. 
> 
> And finally, without further ado, here is Captain Steven Rogers: A History Through Art. Enjoy!

[Excerpt from the speech of chief curator Virginia M. Mecklenburg at the opening banquet of the “Steve Rogers: A History Through Art” Exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, January 5, 2012]

> _“Welcome to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It is my pleasure to introduce to you all an exhibit that has been many years in the making..._
> 
> _“So rarely are we presented with opportunities to join art and history in a union as perfect as this one. Though Captain Steven Roger sacrificed his life for our country more than sixty years ago, his legacy lives on in history books, documentaries, independent films, and now, thanks to our generous donors, in galleries as well. His work provides us with a singular perspective of pre-war American society, as well as a unique window into the soul of the American hero himself. The first piece we have in our collection was recovered by the recently passed Rebecca Barnes, and was donated to the museum by her son…”_

 

***

 

DEPARTMENT of ART HISTORY – NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

 

Art History 254

Art in the Americas, 1900 – 1950

Professor Julia Martin

Spring 2012

 

**Guidelines for Spring Term Final Paper**

 

This assignment requires you to identify an artist and work/s on which you want to write, pose a question, and analyze and use your best scholarship as you propose a way to answer your question. You should choose a subject as early as possible. Due dates for different steps in the research process will be provided along the way so that you don’t fall behind.

Please note: this is not a paper that can be written at the last minute! I know you all think you’re geniuses when you’re writing at 4:00 AM and you’ve just finished your third Red Bull but I promise, it will not work! I’m the one who had to read many of your midterms from last semester. I can tell the difference between a paper started the month before and a paper started the night before.

Your final paper must be turned in online no later than Friday, May 4th, 11:59 PM.

 

        1. All papers should be printed double-space, with pages numbered in the MLA Style format.

        ...

        9. Final papers should be clear, imaginative, and bold to articulate a thesis and theory and should incorporate as much of the original source material as possible to support your ideas. In other words, use evidence to write something I haven’t read before. Make me rethink my entire existence as a professor of art history. Be original Be creative. Be yourself.

 

***

 

 

 

JEN: what r u writing your art history term paper on

BETH: idk

JEN: dude the whole topic proposal/research q is due in like two hours???

BETH: i know i know i knowwwwww

JEN: u r so screwed

BETH: I KNOWWWWW

JEN: JUST PICK SOMETHING THENNN

BETH: I’M TRYINGGGGG

BETH: ugh bring me coffee pls? :3

JEN: k

BETH: wait seriously????

JEN: sure

BETH: omg u r the best girlfriend ever :D :D :D :D

JEN: i know <3

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History Through Art [Exhibit]

 

**1\.  “Family Portrait” - 1924**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1924 (estimated)
> 
> Medium: Crayon on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  3 1/3 in x 4 1/8 in

Description: This drawing is the earliest recovered original work produced by Steve Rogers. The piece is believed to depict himself in between his mother, Sarah Rogers, and his childhood friend, James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes. At this time, Steve Rogers would have been six years old. The drawing was among the collection saved by Rebecca Barnes, James’s older sister, which was later donated to the museum by Rebecca’s son.

 

—

  
 

_[The drawing is small. The three figures are crude, disproportionate, clumsy—drawn with a hand not yet comfortable holding a crayon. That would change, of course. There will come a time when a pencil is as familiar as his own fingers, when callouses form to mold his hand around a pencil shaft, when drawing a face is as easy as remembering it._

_(Not yet, though. He still has time.)_

_The figure on the right is tall, yellow-haired. She’s his mother. The figure on the left is shorter, black-haired. He’s his best friend. All of them are holding hands, their long, spindly arms outstretched and their long, spindly fingers crookedly intertwined._

_(The day Steve Rogers drew this picture, the older woman who owned the grocery at the corner had asked him this was a drawing of his family. Steve had told her no—Bucky was his best friend, not his family._

_She’d smiled and nodded, but the woman had known better.)]_

***

 

JEN: DID U SUBMIT THE TERM PAPER PROPOSAL????

BETH: DUDE I’M FUCKED

JEN: ohmygod do u at least have an idea????

BETH: all i got when i googled for ideas is captain america

JEN: wtf??

BETH: ya apparently the Smithsonian just opened an exhibit with all his drawings n shit

JEN: i didn’t know he was an artist… but sounds good do that

BETH: what no

JEN: WHY THE FUCK NOT YOU HAVE TO BE DONE IN 20 MINUTES!!

BETH: jeeeez, okokokokok point taken

JEN: that’ll be easy, just make ur research q, like, how does his work reflect the time period from whence he came? or some bs like that

BETH: ok i’m using that

JEN: wait no

BETH: TOO LATE I WROTE IT MWAHAHAHA

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

Professor Julia Martin

Art History 254

February 8, 2012

 

Term Paper Topic Proposal and Research Question

 

Topic: My paper will focus on the work of Captain Steve Rogers and how it relates ti the historical context from which he came. Born in 1918, Rogers experienced many of America’s most interesting time periods: the Prohibition Era, the Great Depression, and, most memorably, World War II. As one of America’s most memorable 20th century icons, the artwork Rogers left behind will be an interesting study of both the man himself and the United States he fought so passionately for.

Research Question: To what extent did the artwork of American hero Captain Steve Rogers reflect the historical context he lived in?

Four Annotated Source Citations:

 

  1. Mecklenburg, Virginia M. "Captain Steven Rogers: A History through Art." _Smithsonian Institution_. Smithsonian Institution, 5 Jan. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2012.



 

This source…

 

***

 

BETH: I just BS-ed an entire topic proposal in 15 minutes

JEN: tbh im both disappointed and impressed

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**2\. “Portraits: Bucky Barnes” – 1930**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1928-1932
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  7 3/4 in x 6 in, 12 3/4 x 8 1/2

Description: These portraits, drawn when Rogers was between the ages of ten and fourteen, are the earliest authentic portrait pieces recovered to date. Although still uncertain, most historians agree that the subject of this portraits is Steve Roger’s childhood friend, James “Bucky” Barnes. The drawings were among those saved by Rebecca Barnes, James’s older sister, which were later donated to the museum by Rebecca’s son.

 

—

 

 

_[The portraits take up most of the page. The dark, slow lines are clumsy but careful, like a cartographer trying to map an uncharted shore. The darkest lines emanate from focal points on the boy’s face—his eyes, his nose, his mouth. The paper is coated with indents left from lines drawn and erased and drawn and erased in a fruitless search for perfection. Rather than bringing the piece closer to its goal of reality, each ghost merely muddies the page until the final lines are nearly indistinguishable from their rejected predecessors. As a whole, the pieces depict a painstaking attempt to capture this face, to preserve it at the utmost level of accuracy._

_(The goal was an impossible one. The artist’s frustration can be seen in the pressure of the pencil on the page, the thickness of the black lines. Nothing he did yielded a result that was close enough. Nothing he drew could truly capture the essence of the original.)_

_Each detail, from the lines near his eyes to the blemishes on his cheeks, has been given the same level of attention. The piece is crude and lacking in technique—but it’s genuine, too. This is an artist who hasn’t yet found his tools.]_

 

***

 

[Excerpt from _The Howling Commandos: A Soldier’s Life_ (2001) by Carlo D'Este, Chapter 2: _James “Bucky” Barnes – The Fallen Hero,_ page 41]

> _…Despite (or perhaps, as a result of) his rocky relationship with his family, Barnes was said to be very close to his friends and nearly inseparable from his best friend and future combat leader, Steve Rogers.  Teachers and other adult figures commented on how rarely the two boys were seen apart, to the point that their friendship could become a distraction during class. “Bucky was always very protective of Steve, but not in a Mother Hen sort of way,” commented their grade school teacher, Mary Sykes, in an interview conducted in 1955. “And Steve, well, anyone could see—Bucky was Steve’s whole world.” …_
> 
>  

***

 

TO: elizabeth.roswell@nyu.edu

FROM: j.martin@nyu.edu

SUBJECT: Term Paper Topic Proposal

 

Elizabeth,

I’m emailing you to let you know I received your topic proposal submission. It looks great so far! I’m not familiar with Roger’s work, but I’m sure there’s lots to see!

One suggestion I would make is to look into as many reviews of his work by art critics as you can. Since Rogers isn’t well known for being an artist, it’s important that you justify in your paper why his work is worth studying. That should help give your paper more weight!

Let me know if you have any questions. I can’t wait to see the final product!

~Prof. Martin

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**3\. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes” – 1933**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1933
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  6 1/8 in x 4 7/8 in

Description: This is the fifth piece recovered from the collection of Rebecca Barnes. Like the first portrait in the collection (See “Portrait: Bucky Barnes” – 1930), it depicts Captain Roger’s childhood friend, James “Bucky” Barnes. When this piece was drawn, Steve Rogers would have been about 15 years old, while Barnes would have been 16. It was donated to the museum by Rebecca Barnes in 1987.

 

—

 

 

_[The page is crumpled, and the edges are creased. This is a drawing that was carried religiously in purses, in wallets, in breast pockets, in suitcases and totes and handbags. The paper is yellowed, the bright white color softened after years of touch by tender hands and tender eyes._

_(This one was Rebecca’s favorite. She had photographs, from before he left, but this was how she wanted to remember her brother: young, sixteen, smiling. Steve gave it to her, after he saw how much she liked it. Steve was a sweet boy. She started carrying the drawing with her everywhere, especially after….)_

_The lines are thinner, softer, drawn by a more experienced hand. The artist knows his subject well. He doesn’t need to draw his portrait detail by detail anymore. Instead, he draws a whole.]_

 

***

 

BETH: dude, steve rogers could fuckin DRAW man

JEN: ?????

JEN: isn’t that why you chose him??

BETH: yeah but i mean i didn’t realize he was actually good

BETH: like he probably could have gone professional

BETH: i just looked at a portrait he drew… WHEN HE WAS FUCKING 15

BETH: LOOK AT THIS SHIT

BETH: [Multimedia Message]

JEN: wow

JEN: that’s barnes right?

BETH: yeah

JEN: barnes was a cute motherfucker

 

***

 

[Excerpt from the article “Steven Rogers: The Early Works”, published in the journal Art History, April 1988. Volume  11, Issue 2. Print.]

> _“…As the earliest authentic piece by Rogers in the museum’s possession, it is unsurprising that “Portrait: Bucky Barnes” would lack some of the same technique and finesse that is present in Rogers’s later works. What truly makes this piece unique is the character he manages to capture in the portrait. Barnes’s grin, the tilt of his head, his stance—they all portray a personality more than a likeness. Even at the tender age of 15, it is clear that Rogers possessed a rare level of awareness for the world around him._
> 
> _Barnes’s gaze, which is cast directly at the viewer, as well as the relaxed position of Barnes’s crossed arms over his chest, give a sense of distance between the subject and spectator. We feel as though we, too, are nothing more than a watchful observer…”_

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**4\. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes at Shipyard” – 1934**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1934
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  7 1/8 in x 6 in

Description: This piece depicts Rogers’ friend, James Barnes, as a dock worker at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was one of the first of Rogers’ works to be obtained by the museum. Shortly after Rogers’ demise in 1945, his former landlady, unable to find any remaining kin, donated his possessions to the American Historical Society, who later distributed the items to museums across the country. Although a few of his possessions have been reclaimed by some of Rogers’ close friends, the majority remain in the hands of the public.

 

—

 

 

_[The lines are thin and precise. Careful. Every stroke perfectly sculpts the broad shoulders, the toned arms, the bare chest. Not a single detail is missed. If you knew what to look for, you would even see the pale, white line on his forearm—a scar from when they were 12, and a reminder that fire escapes were not ideal for wrestling matches._

_The artist has gone to a lot of trouble to shade the textures just right. The work pants are crosshatched with pale, tiny lines, so close together it feels like you can see every thread in the rough-spun fabric. The pant legs are rolled up at the bottoms, and a wide belt holds the pants up just above the waist. They don’t fit. Clearly they were meant for someone bigger._

_From the waist up, he’s nothing but skin. The pencil has been carefully smudged with a small, sweaty finger to define the arms, the lean muscle there. A few white lines from the brush of an eraser have made his shoulders and forehead shine with sweat, and there’s a small drop sliding down his temple. The lines that make up his hair are shorter and less controlled. It is a fruitless attempt to capture someone in constant motion. Even the mouth is slightly open, lips parted, like he didn’t have the energy to keep it closed. The eyes, though—the eyes are different, alive. In the dull, industrial background of the piece, this man holds attention._

_(It was a hot day at the shipyard—bright, sunny, not a cloud ‘til Jersey. He felt like he was half underwater, trying to breathe the muggy air with rattling, asthmatic lungs. Bucky was almost off work, and Steve was headed that way anyway, so he decided to wait by the pier. Watching was never the plan._

_By the time he finished the drawing, Steve was drowning. He couldn’t breathe at all.)]_

 

***

 

BETH: hey, Jen

JEN: wut

BETH: was captain america gay?

 

***

 

[Excerpt from “Famous Artists: Steven Rogers” by Susan Benford, posted on her personal blog October 9, 2011.]

> _...Bucky Barnes at Shipyard nods to the academic tradition of painting the male nude, depicting a lean, shirtless, unidealized man engaged in the mundane activity of working with equipement on the docks. The worker (actually modelled after Rogers’ friend, Bucky Barnes) grabs our attention with his muscled arms and chest, while the unusual perspective projects the man into the viewer's space. Rogers draws this man with a realist’s eye, and it is this realism that makes Barnes attractive to us._
> 
> _Despite the classification of this piece as a simple study of the male form, Shipyard was moved to permanent archives in 1954 due to controversial complaints of indecency. It remained there for several decades until it was finally returned to displays in 1994._

 

***

 

JEN: why do you think he’s not straight?

BETH: i don’t know it’s just

BETH: check this out

BETH: [Multimedia Message]

BETH: i mean why would you draw your best friend looking like that

JEN: because your best friend was hot

BETH: sure, yeah, maybe, but you gotta admit i have a point

BETH: male artists draw women all the time and it’s considered an act of love

JEN: draw me like one of your french girls

BETH: EXACTLY

BETH: so how come as soon as he draws a dude it’s just ‘a study in male form’?

JEN: there actually is an answer to that question

JEN: it’s called heteronormativity

BETH: UGH

 

***

 

 

 

***

 

[Excerpt from _Seduction of the Innocent_ by Frederic Wertham. New York: Rinehart, 1954. Print. [[1](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11938466#note1)]]

> _“Only someone ignorant of the fundamentals of psychiatry and of the psychopathology of sex can fail to realize a subtle atmosphere of homoeroticism which pervades the adventures of the mature ‘Batman' and his young friend Robin. … Just as ordinary crime comic books contribute to the fixation of violent and hostile patterns by suggesting definite forms for their expression, so the Batman type of story helps to fixate homoerotic tendencies by suggesting the form of adolescent-with-adult or Ganymede-Zeus type of love-relationship._
> 
> _“Batman and Robin constantly rescue each other from violent attacks by an unending number of enemies. At home, they lead an idyllic life. … Batman is sometimes shown in a dressing gown. As they sit by the fireplace the young boy sometimes worries about his partner: ‘Something’s wrong with Bruce. He hasn’t been himself these past few days.’ It is like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together. …_
> 
> _“Many other examples of the perverse Batman-Robin relationship exist in comics. The early ‘Captain America’ comics depicted the Captain himself in one such relationship with an adolescent version of his comrade in arms, James “Bucky” Barnes. … The Bucky shown in the comics is a handsome, ephebic boy, usually drawn with a charming grin. He is buoyant with energy and devoted to nothing on earth or in interplanetary space as much as to Steve Rogers. He often stands with his legs spread, the genital region discreetly evident. …_
> 
> _“The fact that both Captain Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes have real, human counterparts makes this particular example even more concerning. The Batman-Captain America type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, the nature of which they may be unaware. … The depiction of such relationships in comics is clearly damaging, and children must be protected from such depictions at all costs.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [ 1] The book _Seduction of the Innocent_ was a real book published by Fredric Wertham in 1954. It was a minor best seller at the time and marked the end of the Golden Age of comics. As a result of this book, the Comics Code Authority was voluntarily established by publishers to self-censor their titles. The vast majority of the pieces of the book quoted within this fic are real quotes—Frederic Wertham did write an entire section about how Batman and Robin were a gay couple. However, he did not write about Captain America and Bucky Barnes, though those characters did come under fire as a result of Wertham's accusations. You can read more about _Seduction of the Innocent_ [on its Wikipedia page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seduction_of_the_Innocent).  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11938466#return1)]


	2. March

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**5\. “Portrait: Sleeping Man” – 1935**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1935
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W): 5 in x 7 1/2 in

Description:  This piece was among those found by Steve Rogers’ landlady after his death in 1945. Although the subject of the portrait is unclear, most art historians agree that the background depicts the apartment Rogers grew up in.

 

—

 

 

_[The lines of the apartment walls and sofa are dark and defined, but the strokes that make up the sleeping man are rough and wide—it’s a sketch, after all. The artist gives the outline of a leg, the suggestion of an arm over the couch, but most of the human form is left to the imagination. The only parts that are truly defined are the eyes and mouth. These lines are small, careful, loving. They are soft and tender. The eyes are shut, long lashes fanned over cheeks and the lips, the lips…. (He didn’t mean to draw him this way.)_

_The rest of the face is left unfinished, as though the artist stopped mid-stroke and left the drawing to carry on as it was. There is only the barest hint of a nose, of ears, of hair. The paper itself creased in a hundred different ways, so badly in some parts that the pencil lines are indecipherable from the fold. The entire left side of the paper is torn and uneven from where it was torn out of a sketchbook. It was done quickly, like ripping off a bandage. The artist was not careful then._

_(He set down the pencil and the silence in the room felt like choking on glass—a jagged, tight pain in his throat made from shards too sharp to put back together. The fragile equilibrium of their apartment had been broken, irreparably. They’d always danced around this thing between them. It was an unspoken rule, a line never crossed._

_And yet here he was._

_He crumpled the paper, threw it in the trash, then took it out again and hid it underneath the mattress in his room. He grabbed his moth-eaten jacket—he needed some air. When he left, the door slammed. Bucky didn’t wake.)]_

 

***

 

 

***

 

[Excerpt from the article “Captain America: Beneath the Cowl” by Allan Bérubé. _The Advocate_ , Issue 320, October 1981. Print.][[2](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#note2)]

> _...Despite an abundance of viable evidence, most people continue to ignore the possibility that Captain America was not heterosexual. In some ways, this is understandable. Captain America is a national idol, a true patriot, a symbol of the ideal man. Any interpretation that strays from what Americans consider to be the model man is treated like blasphemy. In the American psyche, the concept of Captain America, American icon,  has risen above the grasping hands of history and into the realm of sainthood. A divide has grown between the idea of Captain America and the man himself._
> 
> _Steven Rogers, the man beneath the cowl, was actually quite different from how wartime comics might have us think. He did fight in the name of liberty and justice for all--perhaps in more ways than Americans at the time would have liked--but he was not by any means a blunt instrument for the Allies to swing around at random in the hopes of downing a few Nazis. It surprises many Americans to learn that Steve Rogers grew up very poor as a first generation American born to a single mother. He was extremely sickly as a child, contracting everything from scarlet fever to pneumonia and dealing with asthma on the top of it all. In the 1930s, asthma alone was something of a death sentence. Modern-day inhalers were not readily available, especially not to a boy of Rogers’ limited means. Any of the many fights he got into could have been deadly. Perhaps one of the main reasons Rogers stayed alive so long was the help of his best friend, Bucky Barnes. ..._
> 
> _Once I knew what to look for, the sheer quantity of material supporting my theory was actually quite astounding. According to numerous interviews with friends, teachers, and acquaintances, Rogers had never spent a considerable amount of time with women before Peggy Carter. Many sources suggest that he had never had a girlfriend at all. When he joined the army at the age of 24, more than half of his peers were already married._
> 
> _Many historians rationalize this with Steve’s poor physical health. Others point to his personality as a shy, sensitive artist type, which, ironically, doesn’t usually help their case while attempting to prove Rogers’ alleged heterosexuality. It’s amazing how detailed the excuses can get in order to avoid one simple and fairly obvious explanation: Rogers was not very interested in women. For a long time, Rogers lived alone with his long-time male best friend in an apartment in what was then a very “queer” part of town. He was a mere six blocks away from a notorious gay-friendly hotel. His small stature and his nature as a “sensitive artist type” would have certainly gotten him many propositions around his neighborhood._
> 
> _My evidence is by no means definitive proof. It is quite possible that Steve Rogers was indeed a heterosexual man. However, a “queer” interpretation of the historical evidence is not nearly so outrageous as it may initially seem. I hope that historians in future generations might be more open to these consideration. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people have existed all throughout history, and they will continue to exist long before they are accepted by it.  
>  _

 

***

 

BETH: dude i think cap was actually queer

JEN: like, ‘i think he’s queer’ queer or ‘here’s a photo of him fucking a dude’ queer?

BETH: i mean ‘unconfirmed but widely speculated’ queer

BETH: like, it’s not just me thinking that

JEN: interesting….

BETH: there’s even a buzzfeed article about it

JEN: well then it must be true

BETH: shut up

BETH: i’ve been doing research on queer cap for like 2 hours

BETH: i deserve some buzzfeed[[3](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#note3)]

JEN: dude, 2 hours? you’re supposed to be researching how his ART shows HISTORY

BETH: yeah i know….

JEN: unless you didn’t

BETH: ????

JEN: just ask the professor to change topics

JEN: ask her if you can write about QUEER CAP

BETH: OMG

JEN: DO IT DO IT DO IT

JEN: I DARE YOU

BETH: JEN YOU KNOW I CAN’T BACK DOWN FROM DARES

JEN: EXACTLY

JEN: RELEASE THE GAY

JEN: LET YOUR INNER BI SHINE

JEN: BE THE QUEER YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD

 

***

 

TO: elizabeth.roswell@nyu.edu

FROM: j.martin@nyu.edu

SUBJECT: Change Term Paper Topic

 

Dear Professor Martin,

I’m working on my term paper, and I’m wondering if it would be possible to change my topic. I know that it’s already several weeks in, and that if I were to change, I would be very behind on research. However, the research that I’ve been doing has pointed me in a new direction that I would really like to explore.

With your permission, I’d like to change my topic to explore the homoerotic and queer undertones of Steve Rogers’ work.

I can be prepared to submit a new topic proposal form to you by Friday.

Please let me know if this would be possible!

Thank you,

Elizabeth Roswell

 

***

 

TO: elizabeth.roswell@nyu.edu

FROM: j.martin@nyu.edu

SUBJECT: RE: Change Term Paper Topic

 

Hi Elizabeth!

Many students decide to change directions while doing research, so I completely understand if that’s what you’d like to do! As you said in your email, it will require a bit of extra work in a short amount of time, but if it’s something you’re passionate about then I encourage you to tackle it! It seems like a very interesting topic, I’m very excited to see what you come up with.

~Prof. Martin

 

***

 

New York University Library

3-4-2012 5:32PM

Item(s) checked out to ROSWELL, ELIZABETH M.

 

> TITLE: Gay New York: Gender, Urban Cultu[[4](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#note4)]
> 
> AUTHOR: George Chauncey
> 
> BC: 35143000824419
> 
> DUE DATE: 03-24-2012

 

> TITLE: Coming Out Under Fire: The Histor
> 
> AUTHOR: Allan Berube
> 
> BC: 35143000824523
> 
> DUE DATE: 03-24-2012

 

> TITLE: Captain America: A Complete Biogr
> 
> AUTHOR: Samuel W. Mitcham
> 
> BC: 32199922120419
> 
> DUE DATE: 03-24-2012

 

> TITLE: Captain Steven Rogers: The Untold
> 
> AUTHOR: Nan Alamilla Boyd
> 
> BC: 32199922120484
> 
> DUE DATE: 03-24-2012

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**6\. “Funeral Procession” – 1937**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1937
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  5 in x 6 3/4 in

Description: This drawing was done shortly after the death of Rogers’ mother, Sarah Rogers. Sarah was a nurse who died of tuberculosis in 1937, leaving her 19-year-old son orphaned. This sketch was one of the pieces donated to the museum after the death of Rebecca Barnes.

 

—

 

 

 

_[The drawing is shadowed and heavy, and the water-damaged paper no longer lies flat. The piece focuses on a line of people leaving a church. They all wear black, each article of clothing darkened so completely that the dust of the pencil lead has smeared all over the page. The grass is gray, the stone church is gray, the sky is a sea of gray. A series of dark, violent, diagonal lines are scattered evenly over the page—rain, sleet perhaps—though none of the people carry umbrellas._

_(He just wanted to be alone for a little while. Father McCarty understood that, and Steve was so, so grateful. Once all the people left—it hadn’t been a large ceremony—the church was quiet and empty, except for the pastor, and Steve sat on the church steps, looking out on the tiny urban courtyard. He fished his pencil out of his bag.)_

_One figure stands slightly apart from the rest of the procession, solitary. His hands are in his pockets, and he’s facing away from the viewer. The perspective of the drawing makes it seem as though the man carries some of the clouds on his shoulders, like he’s holding up the sky. His hair and clothes are dark, though the grass he stands on in is a little less so. He carries an aura, a lighter aura, and yet his head is still downcast._

_The rain covers him just as much as everyone else.]_

 

***

 

[Excerpt from _Captain America: A Complete Biography_ by Samuel W. Mitcham, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2009. p. 17-18. Print.]

> _Little is known about Roger’s father, Joseph Rogers. He was a soldier who served during the First World War in the 107th Infantry, and he died in a mustard gas attack in May of 1918 only two months before his son was born. Most historians agree that Rogers’ parents were, in fact, married, but it is unclear whether they were wed in the United States or overseas, as no records of their marriage could be found in state archives._
> 
> _Sarah Rogers (née McGrath) was an Irish immigrant from an impoverished Catholic family who moved to New York some time between 1901 and 1913. Although her level of education is unknown, she was qualified enough to become a teacher for a few years while Steve was an infant. Historians disagree about where Sarah Rogers worked during the majority of her son’s childhood, but many believe she was a nurse in a tuberculosis ward. She died of the same disease in 1937._

 

***

 

_Oh Bridgit O’Malley, you left my heart shaken_

_With a hopeless desolation, I’d have you to know_

_It’s the wonders of admiration your quiet face has taken_

_And your beauty will haunt me wherever I go._

 

_The white moon above the pale sands, the pale stars above the thorn tree_

_Are cold beside my darling, but no purer than she_

_I gaze upon the cold moon till the stars drown in the warm sea_

_And the bright eyes of my darling are never on me._

 

_Bridgit O’Malley — Irish Folk Song_

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

March 7, 2012

Art History 254

Professor Julia Martin

 

~~Captain America: A Tale of Love and War~~

~~Captain America: An Artist’s Journey~~

~~Captain America’s Gay Agenda~~

~~Captain America was Really Bi~~

Captain America: I suck at term paper titles please give me an A

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**7\. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes in Brooklyn Apartment” – 1939**

> Artist: Steven G. Rogers
> 
> Date: 1939
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  10 7/16 in x 8 in

Description: This piece was among those recovered by Rogers’ landlady. In depicts James “Bucky” Barnes in the apartment he and Rogers shared following Sarah Rogers’ death. Rogers was 21 at the time.

 

—

 

 

_[The piece is done entirely in soft, muted shades of gray—nearly black, ash, dark charcoal, pale silver, almost white. Each shade shifts seamlessly into the next, giving the apartment a hushed, subdued appearance. At first glance, the viewer might not even notice the man sitting off to the side on the chair near the window. He blends in, comfortable, like the whole room has molded to his presence. An easy light spills in through the window, joining the man with the chair with the hardwood floor. He is inextricable._

_(They were both on the lease now: Steven Rogers and James Barnes. He wasn’t sure how long it would take him to process that. It had always been his place, or Bucky’s place, but this was their place, and somehow that felt so much different, and Bucky? Bucky looked like he belonged.)_

_On closer inspection, a viewer would notice the precision of the lines around the man’s face, in his hair, on his lips. Nothing about this man’s face was meant to camouflage. The gentle gradients of the room quiet these lines a little, but it’s clear that the man was still the focus of the artist’s attention. Even so, the man has been drawn across the room, a fair distance from the spectator. The physical distance is isolating from the man, but not from the room. The onlooker is both there and detached at the same time.]_

 

***

 

[Excerpt from Interview with Rebecca Barnes, June 1971. Aired on Fox News as a part of the Steve Rogers 50-year special.]

> INTERVIEWER: You knew Rogers quite well?
> 
> REBECCA BARNES: Oh yes, very.
> 
> I: He was something of a fixture in the Barnes household.
> 
> B: Yes, when they were young, yes.
> 
> I: When they were young?
> 
> B: Well, after they got their own apartment, we didn’t see either of them all that much.
> 
> I: Why did your brother decide to move out? Typically a young man would wait until he was married first.
> 
> B: Yes, well, Steve and Bucky were very close, and—
> 
> I: Rogers was often sickly, he needed his friend’s help?
> 
> B: Yes, well—no, Rogers was always getting sick, but that wasn’t why they got that apartment of theirs. It was mainly to do with my father.
> 
> I: George Barnes. He was a soldier, wasn’t he? Highly decorated.
> 
> B: Yes, yes he was. But he and Bucky didn’t always get along.
> 
> I: Was your father a strict parent?
> 
> B: …Yes, you could say that. They—Bucky and my father—fought a great deal. Bucky didn’t approve of the way my father behaved himself a lot of the time.
> 
> I: Behaved himself?
> 
> B: The way my father treated my mother, mostly. Then there were all the horrible things he said, about women and Negroes, about the queers—
> 
> I: So they disagreed on politics?
> 
> B: …You could say that.

 

***

 

[Excerpt from _The Howling Commandos: A Soldier’s Life_ (2001) by Carlo D'Este, Chapter 2: _James “Bucky” Barnes – The Fallen Hero_ , p. 58]

> _…Barnes moved out from his parents’ home at the age of 22 after a series of heated fights with his father which culminated in his decision to leave. At the time, most children would continue living with their parents until they were married, especially with the state of the economy during the Great Depression. Becoming financially independent was nearly impossible._
> 
> _Barnes worked at a variety of jobs in order to support himself and to pay rent for the apartment that he and Steve Rogers shared. Splitting rent was not only convenient for Barnes and his friend, but also a financial necessity._

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**8\. “Brooklyn Cityscape 6” – 1942**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1942
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  5 3/16 in x 8 1/8 in

Description: Any native Brooklynite would recognize this scene as the view of the city from the Brooklyn Bridge. This piece is one in a series of 13 pieces depicting various locations in the city of Brooklyn. However, unlike the other works in its collection, this drawing was found among the personal possessions of Bucky Barnes that were sent back to his family after his death in 1945. Although the figure in the foreground is facing away from the viewer, some historians believe him to be Barnes himself. The note on the back of the piece certainly supports this theory: “Wish you were here, wish I was there.” It was likely drawn shortly after Barnes joined the army.

 

—

 

 

 

_The page has been folded along the same two lines so many times that the paper is thin and weak over the creases, fragile. It was folded in half once, then twice to make it the perfect size to fit in a military-issued breast pocket._

_(Bucky could have kept it in his foot locker, but something always made him take it with. It might have been the note at the back. That note was the reason he kept fighting: so that no matter how often Steve kept trying to join the army, he would never have to. War was hell.)_

_The buildings are drawn with easy straight lines, each stroke dark and sure. The way the artist shaded each tower, each apartment complex, makes it look like sunrise or sunset.  Some places are dark with crosshatching, others are light and unsullied. The entire drawing is calm and still. The perspective of the viewer is such that not a single car can be seen, although they are undoubtedly driving by behind them. The cityscape is tall and immovable, and even the sky above appears motionless. The man in the foreground is resting his arms on the railing and looking out over the city of Brooklyn, and he, too, is still. His face is turned away. His expression is a mystery, but something in his stance makes him look comfortable, at home. The pencil strokes around his shoulders are broad and sweeping lines, not feathered or faint. The way the light and shading has been drawn for him, he looks just as much a fixture in this city as any building._

_(Most people looked the other direction when they came up here. If he turned around, he’d see Manhattan, and wasn’t that the view everyone wanted? Brooklyn was short and dirty and small in comparison—or at least it looked that way, to some. While all the tourists, all the photographers, all the sightseers and elderly people and young couples gazed at one city, Steve had eyes only for the other. He couldn’t look anywhere else if he tried._

_Drawing Bucky, though—that was unexpected. He hadn’t meant to, but some things were hard to prevent. Some part of Bucky would always be in Brooklyn. Even the pencil knew.)]_

 

***

 

[Steve Rogers' 1930s/1940s neighbourhood](http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/213805.html)

Mar. 20th, 2012 07:19

[thingswithwings](http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/)

 

ETA: WHY IN THE HELL DID I NOT ORIGINALLY TITLE THIS POST "MR. ROGERS' GAYBOURHOOD," WHAT IS EVEN WRONG WITH ME. WELL IT'S CALLED THAT NOW.  

 

Mr. Rogers' Gaybourhood[[5](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#note5)]

I have been doing research for a paper I'm writing about gay soldiers in World War II, and I thought you would all be interested in the results! I recently sat down to figure out exactly where American hero Steve Rogers’ local gay bars would be, or where the closest ones would be, because why the hell not, and uh . . . turns out that Steve Rogers lived in the MIDDLE of the biggest cruising/gay bar/gay hangouts area of Brooklyn. Like, a couple blocks from the St. George Hotel, which was almost entirely gay by the early 40s. [...]

For reference, here's where Steve Rogers' apartment might have been, according to the Steve Rogers Historical Society’s map. Now, that map isn't quite to scale, but as far as I can tell that puts Steve square in Brooklyn Heights, significantly north of Governor's island and a few blocks away from Flatbush Ave. Other sources like billing addresses say that Steve lived in DUMBO in the 30s, which would be a little further north, maybe, closer to the Manhattan bridge overpass (where it says DUMBO on the map below).

Either way, this is a gay neighbourhood in the 1930s/1940s. I have made a google map to illustrate:

 

So, I've tried to click in Brooklyn Heights about where the Historical Society’s map says Steve's apartment is. That's the dot at 166 Montague Street. Or, if you look further north, Steve's other potential apartment would be around where it says "DUMBO" (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass). If you go with that apartment, Steve's neighbourhood is gay and very poor, very rough; if you go with what’s on the map, Steve's neighbourhood is gay and fairly poor, fairly rough, and a bit more artsy.

The other two places I've marked are two of the most notorious gay hangouts/gay neighbourhoods in that time period. 100 Henry Street is the St George Hotel, famous (even infamous) as both a cruising spot, a hookup spot (where two men could rent a room together without any fuss), and a home for many gay men (who lived in the hotel long-term). The area all around there is full of gay bars etc. 7 Middagh Street, the other dot on the map, is where W.H. Auden, Gypsy Rose Lee, and many other famous gay, queer, and artsy folks lived in the 1940s. [Here's a nice history of 7 Middagh](http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/10/books/everybody-slept-here.html) from the NYT, appropriately called "Everybody Slept Here." Again, I want to emphasize that this famous artsy queer house is perhaps six blocks from Steve's place, perhaps less.

Note also the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a little further north and east; I assume I don't have to tell you what goes on around a navy yard, especially pre-WWII. But the Brooklyn Navy Yard was particularly well known as a cruising/hangout place, especially for sailors/people who wanted to pick up sailors, obviously. Sands Street, which isn't named in that map, was full of drag clubs and gay bars during this period, and well populated by both male and female hookers. The male hookers would be some of them in drag, some in boy clothes, some in their sailor's uniforms (it's the street just north of Flushing Ave, on the west side of the Navy Yard). It was a rough neighbourhood, too, which is important to remember, tattoo parlours and such. If you weren't getting cruised, you were probably getting rolled. Given that we know Steve was poor, and that he probably had even more trouble than other guys getting work during the depression, you have to wonder if, walking through his red-light district and seeing guys getting paid for suckjobs, he didn't consider it once or twice.

So, there you go. Steve Rogers' neighbourhood in the 1930s and 1940s was gay. If he didn't trip over someone fucking a sailor when he was walking home at night, I'd be surprised. And if he never got cruised, I'd be damn shocked.

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

March 31, 2012

Art History 254

Professor Julia Martin

 

A Queer Analysis of Captain America’s Work

        Although he has existed as a prominent pop culture figure for decades, little definitive knowledge exists about the true nature of American patriot and hero Captain Steve Rogers. He spent only a couple years in the public eye, and led a fairly private life prior to his acceptance into the army. The only remaining window we have through which to view the man beneath the cowl is the artwork he left behind. From as young as the age of 6, Rogers has been a prolific artist. His work portrays a very different image from what has been commonly associated with the star-spangled hero America believes him to be. Perhaps the most unexpected aspect to his drawings is the homoerotic undertones that pervade the pieces depicting his best friend and comrade in arms, James “Bucky” Barnes. The queer subtext of Rogers’ work is clear through the perspective Rogers chooses to draw from as well as the scenes he chooses to depict. This essay will analyze the ways in which Rogers’ drawings exhibit this subtext and how a queer interpretation of his work can influence the way historians describe the true Captain America.

 

***

 

 

 

_Description: Sketch by Captain Steven Rogers, drawn while in training at Camp Lehigh, 1943. Depicts the camp’s dining hall. Currently in the possession of a private collector._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [2] Allan Bérubé was a real historian and basically the only historian who wrote about queer people in WWII. His book, _Coming Out Under Fire_ , is extremely informative, and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in queer WWII history, for fanfiction purposes or otherwise.  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#return2)]
> 
> [3] In case you're interested, [here](http://www.buzzfeed.com/kelsey1205/bisexual-steve-rogers-sais) is the link to the buzzfeed article about Bisexual Steve Rogers. It's worth the read.  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#return3)]
> 
> [4] _Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World 1890-1940_ by George Chauncey is another book I recommend for the purpose of pre-serum Steve fanfiction research.  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#return4)]
> 
> [5] I cannot take any credit for all of this fantastic research. This dreamwidth post was, with permission, mostly quoted from [thingswithwings's](http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/) amazing post which can be found [here](http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/213805.html). The sections quoted within this fic are changed slightly to remove references to the real world of Marvel fic, so I recommend you read the original. I have used this post as a reference for many a fic, so if you haven't read the whole thing yet, I hope you check it out!  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11940113#return5)]


	3. Early April

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**9\. “Portrait: Bucky Barnes in Army Barracks” – 1943**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1943
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  5 3/16 in x 7 in

Description: This piece was drawn shortly after Steve Rogers was finally accepted into the army. Historians believe it depicts the inside of the barracks in Camp Lehigh, New Jersey, where Rogers trained before being selected for Project Rebirth. It was found among the possessions that Rogers left behind at the camp before beginning his USO tour. Presumably, he intended to retrieve them after his tour had finished, but fate had other plans. The items were donated to the museum following Rogers’ death.

 

—

 

 

_[Some of the lines are thick, messy. Drawn with a dull pencil. It’s row after row of beds. Most of them have soldiers in them, but none of their faces are visible from the viewer’s perspective—none except the man closest to us. He’s lying back with one leg crosses over the other, holding book above his chest and propping his head up on a duffle bag._

_(Ever since he started drawing Bucky in places where he wasn’t, Steve couldn’t stop. Bucky was just the form he was most familiar with, he told himself. Drawing Bucky was just a reflex._

_Maybe that was part of it, but he couldn’t kid himself into thinking that was all of it. He missed Bucky, God did he miss him. He missed him like a lost limb. He missed him like a lead weight in his chest.)]_

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

April 3, 2012

Art History 254

Professor Julia Martin

Captain America: A Queer Analysis

...

BODY PARAGRAPH 3:

In Rogers’ _Bucky Barnes in Army Barracks_ , the artist uses an angled perspective, line direction, and focal points to create a sense of intimacy in the scene, thus emphasizing the importance of the man he’s chosen to draw. The row of beds that extends from the foreground to the background draw the viewer’s eye diagonally across the page. Furthermore, the lines indicating the light coming from the windows represents a nearly perpendicular directional line. In between these two central paths lies the main subject of the piece, Bucky Barnes, who is himself a line directing the viewer towards the right end of the piece. As a result, the viewer’s eye is drawn across the length of the man’s body. This, in combination with the obvious implications of Barnes lying on a bed, lends the image a comfortable, intimate tone that can be seen throughout Rogers’ work....

 

***

 

JEN: can i ask u something important

BETH: ofc babe <3

JEN: do u think steve rogers died a virgin

BETH: jennnnnnnnn

BETH: don’t hype up questions like that it stresses me out

JEN: u didn’t answer the very important question

BETH: OHMYGOD

BETH: but yeah i think he probably was a virgin

JEN: really??? have u seen peggy carter?????

BETH: i know but like, do u really think they had time to do it on the war front?

JEN: yes

JEN: if i was peggy carter’s bf, i would make the time

JEN: besides, aren’t you trying to prove that he had the hots for barnes???

JEN: maybe they got some action ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

BETH: i cannot believe you used that emoticon against me

 

***

 

[Excerpt from _71 Years of Captain America: A History of America’s First Real-Life Superhero_ by Adam Belloto, KomicKorner.com, 2011] [[6](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11941652#note6)]

> _In the comics industry, Captain America emerged as a symbol for the perfect American soldier. He was brave, he was smart, and, above all, he advocated for the ideals of American democracy: truth, liberty, and justice for all. Numerous issues depict him punching Adolf Hitler in the face. He was a hero for soldiers and civilians alike._
> 
> _However, by the end of the war, the popularity of Captain America comics began to fade. Steve Rogers, the man behind the Captain America persona, died near the end of the war in a plane crash, and fighting Nazis was no longer as good of a plot line as it had been during the war._
> 
> _Then, in the 1950s, a new war began to take shape. American relations with the Soviet Union became increasingly strained, invoking the need for Captain America once again. A new line of comic books—”Captain America: Commie Smasher”—hit the shelves and became a huge hit. Once again, Captain America represented the most prevalent American ideals of the time._
> 
> _The success of each new iteration of Captain America corresponds directly to each new war the United States entered in the 20th century, from Korea to Vietnam to the Gulf War. At the end of the war, our star-spangled man’s popularity diminishes until the next war starts. This pattern begs the question, can Captain America survive without a war? Are concepts of American idealism so intimately tied with our military strength that we can’t find one interesting without the other?_
> 
> _Maybe one of the most interesting aspects of the Captain America phenomenon is how utterly removed Captain America’s comic book persona has become from the man who inspired his creation: Steve Rogers. It’s interesting to think about how Rogers might have reacted to the way his character was used, once again, as a propaganda tool._

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**10\. “Sketchbook Pages: Captain America Tour” – 1943**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1943
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  10 7/16 in x 8 in

Description: This page was one of many included in the sketchbook Steve Rogers brought with him on his tour, and, later, onto the battlefield. As a whole, this sketchbook is perhaps one of the most telling artifacts about Steve Rogers, and this page is no exception. The Captain America tour was the first time Steve Rogers had traveled beyond New York and New Jersey. His enthusiasm is clear by the sheer quantity of landmarks he has illustrated. This page features sketches of Grant Park in Chicago, as well a small sketch of a man in the bottom left corner and a sketch of a woman (presumably Rogers’ mother) in the upper right.

 

—

 

_[Graphite powder covers the page like sand, like a layer of dust, like grime covering a dirty window. Many of the lines are smudged together or smeared into the paper. There are no sharp edges._

_(He takes this book everywhere. It’s seen rowdy Chicago crowds, tame Milwaukie matinees, Philadelphia rain. He performs, he sleeps, he travels, and then he performs again. Every day a new headline berates him from the newsstands_ — _“_ Allies Take Sicily!, “Mussolini Imprisoned!” ”Troops Land in Naples!” _It feels like an accusation, needling away at him. “_ You could do more.” _)_

_Every line of Grant Park is quick and short, barely making contact with the page before they sweep away, move somewhere else. Some of the shapes are left unshaded. The crosshatching is fast and clumsy._

_(Sometimes he draws just to stay sane.)_

_In the blank space around the outskirts of the page are other drawings—smaller ones, darker ones, more intricate ones. Their faces are fine and precise, despite the blurred edges of the smudged graphite. Each detail is drawn like the artist is trying to commit it to memory._

_(He is, too. It’s been too long since his mother passed, and he’s started to forget her face. He didn’t have any recent photographs of her before she died.  He’s only got the one_ — _the one where she’s standing next to his father just before he got shipped off to Germany. He doesn’t let himself look at that photo now. He wants to let himself remember her the way he knew her, not the way she used to be. But still, the details are difficult. He can’t seem to get the eyes quite right anymore, and he can’t remember whether or not she had a widow’s peak. It frightens him._

_He can draw Bucky though. pencil still knows that face, knows the curve of his lips and the line of his jaw. Drawing Bucky is almost a reflex.)_

_The paper speaks of many things, but enthusiasm is not one of them.]_

 

***

 

_Who’s strong and brave, here to save the American Way?_

_Who vows to fight like a man for what’s right night and day?_

 

***

 

[Excerpt from Captain Steven Rogers: The Untold Story by Nan Alamilla Boyd, New York City: AHC Press, 2002. p. 56-57. Print.]

> _...Although the popular narrative claims that Steve Rogers was happy during his time on the USO tour, other evidence suggests a very different story. According to some, Rogers may have even been battling depression. One of the USO girls traveling with Rogers described him as “quiet” and “withdrawn”, while another said he was “frustrated at being stuck stateside”. One of Rogers’ drawings from his sketchbook depicts a monkey performing at a circus while wearing his Captain America costume. It’s possible that the USO tour felt confining to Rogers rather than exciting._ [[7](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11941652#note7)]

 

***

 

_Who will redeem, head the call for America,_

_Who’ll rise or fall, give his all for America,_

_Who’s here to prove that we can?_

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**11\. “Sketchbook Pages (Various)” – 1943**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1943
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  6 5/8 in x 6 1/4 in

Description: These two pages, also among those collected from Rogers’ sketchbook, were likely drawn during Captain Rogers’ tour with the USO in Italy. One of the largest illustrations is a map of the Italian peninsula and Sicily, including a note referencing a city they had just left. The other page shows a monkey wearing Captain America’s uniform performing on a tightrope. On the back of this page, Rogers has drawn a portrait of his friend, Bucky Barnes. Many art historians claim this portrait to be an experiment in style, since the techniques Rogers employs here differ greatly from most of his other works.

 

—

 

 

_[Harsh, ragged lines build the outline of the face, the hair, the neck. It’s sloppy and quick. Some of the darker lines were pressed so hard into the paper that it carved small ridges into the page. Other lines are completely skewed off target, as if the hand who drew them was shaking too badly to keep them in place._

_(His hands are shaking. He’s trying to remember the face, frantically, desperately. He needs to get it just right. It’s been such a long time though, and he thinks—_

_He’s afraid—_

_He feels—)_

_The drawing isn’t finished. Only part of the face has been shaded, and the rest has been left as mere outlines. The stare of the man in the portrait becomes unnerving, almost empty._

_(He looks at what he’s drawing, looks at the way the eyes are looking at him, and stops. He can’t do this anymore. He can’t sit here and wait._

_He won’t.)]_

 

***

 

[Excerpt of script from the academy award winning 2009 film _Captain_ written and directed by Diablo Cody. The film was nominated for best picture and won for best costume design and best score. Chris Pine was nominated for best lead actor for his role as Steve Rogers, and Jake Gyllenhaal won his first Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as Bucky Barnes.] [[8](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11941652#note8)]

FADE IN:

 

EXT. GERMAN FOREST – DAY

 

STEVE ROGERS, BUCKY BARNES, and a crowd of other soldiers are trekking through the forest. They’ve just escaped the Hydra prison camp. Some are injured, supported by their friends. They arrive at a clearing and ROGERS halts the march.

 

ROGERS

(to BARNES)

Sit down.

 

BARNES

C’mon, I’m—

 

ROGERS

Sit down.

 

BARNES

We need to get moving. They could be sending backups. We don’t have time—

 

ROGERS

I don’t care. Sit down now, Buck, or so help me…

 

GABE JONES, an African-American soldier from Georgia who’d run into plenty of evil long before he started fighting Nazis, watches the exchange with passive interest. Privately, he agrees with Barnes—they’re only a few miles away from the Hydra base and it’s already getting dark—but something about the Captain’s tight-lipped, almost wild expression makes Jones doubt he’s thinking about tactics or strategy.

 

Rogers has Barnes sat down on a rock while he examines a shallow gash in the Sergeant’s shoulder. Even from here, Jones can see Barnes rolling his eyes.

 

JIM MORITA, a skilled communications expert and the only Japanese-American for a hundred miles, ambles over to Jones, who gives a half-hearted salute in greeting. They know each other. They’re friends, in fact.

 

MORITA

What do you think of our new star-spangled hero?

 

MORITA hands Jones a cigarette. Jones looks at it and raises a questioning eyebrow.

 

MORITA (CONT’D)

Courtesy of Hydra. Snatched ‘em from a guy I knocked down on our way out.

 

JONES nods, accepting the cigarette.

 

JONES

Gotta light?

 

MORITA produces a small matchbook and strikes a match. They light their cigarettes and take a few moments to simply enjoy the nicotine before continuing their conversation.

 

JONES

The Captain’s fine. He and Barnes seem real close.

 

MORITA

I heard Barnes callin’ him ‘Steve’.

 

JONES

Steve? _That_ Steve?

 

MORITA

Yeah. I know.

 

JONES

Oh.

 

They look back over to where Barnes and Captain are sitting across the clearing, talking in hushed voices. The Captain—Steve—has an arm on Barnes’s left shoulder.

 

JONES

That explains a lot.

 

***

 

CinaGeeks.com -  _Articles for your Inner Film Buff_

**__Captain_ _ is Ultimate Bromance Movie**

    Chad Newman | November 4, 2009, 07:43 P.M.

The highly anticipated film _Captain_ just premiered last Friday, featuring the star-spangled hero we all grew up reading about in comics and writing reports on in elementary school. However, the way he was presented in this movie might have been a _little_ different than the patriotic freedom fighter we all remember. Was it just me, or was Steve Rogers really…. gay?

Basically any time he looked at Bucky was a 5-star Hollywood Soulful Gaze™ and Bucky’s death scene definitely felt like something out of _Titanic_. A few critics have even been jokingly describing the movie as “a little Brokeback Mountain”. Steve and Bucky’s “bromance” is certainly one of the most talked about elements of this new film.

Even with smoking hot Keira Knightley playing Peggy Carter, Cap seems to put most of his attention on Bucky. I can understand why a few radical Christian associations have labeled the movie “inappropriate”. But in the end, bros will be bros, and Steve still ends up with Peggy…

 

COMMENTS

user 2biornot2bi | 5 Nov 2009 06:45 A.M.

> This whole article strikes me as really heteronormative. Because when I watched that movie, I got the impression that Steve and Bucky actually _were_ queer.
> 
> The concept of Captain America _actually_ being queer is _so_ outrageous that any film or commentary that attempts to suggest Cap's queerness is being treated as a joke. What the straights are calling “bromance” is really just plain old romance.
> 
> Queer Captain America isn’t something new. Historians have been suggesting for decades that Steve Rogers may have actually been legitimately bisexual. However, when confronted with this theory head on in an Oscar-worthy film, Americans are doing mental backflips to make it fit with their own heteronormative narratives of their beloved American hero.
> 
> Diablo Cody’s retelling of Rogers’ tale is, hands down, a queer one. Cody has even said in an interview last month that her intention with this movie was to “break down misconceptions” and “tell the story they didn’t show you in junior high history class”. She even goes on to say that Captain Rogers “has always represented the hero that America needs most …. and right now, America needs equality”.
> 
> If that’s not a round-about way of saying “Yeah, he’s bi,” then I don’t know what is.
> 
> And let’s not forget those Brokeback mountain jokes. They're getting old. I get that Jake Gyllenhaal is in both movies, but they’re COMPLETELY different kinds of films. Then again, Brokeback Mountain is the only gay movie the heterosexuals have heard of, so I understand that they might have a limited scope. I guess we’ll see how they react when I say that the Notebook felt “a little Titanic” to me because it was sad and straight and there was water involved.

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**12\. “Portrait: Howling Commandos 3” – 1943**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1943
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  5 11/16 in x 7 5/16 in

Description: This portrait was likely drawn on Christmas Eve, more than a month after Rogers returned from rescuing the 107th infantry division in November of 1943. Rogers was at the Allied Forces Headquarters at the time in Caserta, Italy. This piece features the Caserta base mess hall with all six members of the original Howling Commandos: James “Bucky” Barnes, Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, Jacques Dernier, and James Montgomery Falsworth. It was drawn in one of the sketchbook Rogers used throughout war and was given to the museum following his death.

 

—

 

 

_[The drawing is light—plenty of white space, the shine on metal cups, the gleam of grins and faces. All of them are there, caught in the middle of conversation. It’s not a flattering portrayal, per se, but it’s genuine, real. The table at the center of the piece extends all the way to the foreground, putting the viewer at the head of the table, projecting them into the scene._

_(Steve can’t help but pull out his notebook right here at the dinner table. He needs to capture this moment. He needs to remember this._

_They all helped decorate the hall earlier. A few Italian civilians helped, and Steve and Bucky tried to help interpret—they grew up in Brooklyn, after all. Who doesn’t know a few words of Italian? Bucky looks happier than Steve has seen him in months, and that puts a feeling in Steve’s chest that’s somewhere in between relief and heartache—bittersweet, perhaps. Steve gives Bucky the cigarettes he got in his rations (“Merry Christmas”) and Bucky hands him something he took on a mission, maybe off of a dead soldier. They just got back from destroying a Hydra base in France. It’s a cross._

_Steve wears it, of course. Right next to his dog tags. At the beginning, he might have felt guilty about wearing a dead man’s cross, but he’s not the same man he was at the beginning, and besides, it’s a gift. Still, when Bucky grins this smile, this free, wild grin that lights up his whole face, and when he looks at Steve with the same look, Steve feels damned. He swears he can feel the cool metal burn his skin.)]_

 

***

 

Caption: Steve Rogers helps add decorations to the Christmas altar at the Allies’ headquarters in Caserta, Italy.

[Photo from December 25th, 1944. Photograph taken by Richard Turning, US Military Photographer. Currently held by the National World War II Museum in Washington, D.C..]

 

***

 

 

***

 

JEN: soooo….. how’s the paper going?

BETH: UGH

JEN: coffee is on its way

BETH: <333333333333333333333333333333333333

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**13\. “Portrait: Howling Commandos 4” – 1944**

> Artist: Steven G. Rogers
> 
> Date: 1944
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  10 7/16 in x 8 in

Description: This drawing is yet another taken from Steve Rogers’ sketchbook during the war. Featured are Jacques Dernier, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, and Bucky Barnes walking with their weapons. Barnes is shown with the same type of gun he used most frequently in combat: an M1941 Johnson rifle.

 

—

 

_[The men are walking slightly towards the left of the viewer, advancing, but at an angle. The figures fill up the page. Little space is left around them, and even less space is left between them. Dernier and Jones walk shoulder to shoulder, while Morita walks backwards ahead of the other three. Barnes is shoving at Morita’s arm. Their grins are drawn light, but no less sure._

_(He’s not picturing a specific memory when he draws this, sitting in a mess hall between missions. He wasn’t drawing something specific he’d seen, exactly, but he was drawing something true. )_

_The gun on Bucky’s shoulder, dark and heavy, is almost an afterthought.]_

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

April 13, 2012

Art History 254

Professor Julia Martin

The Artwork of Captain Steven Rogers: A Queer Analysis

...

BODY PARAGRAPH 5:

...Even in group portraits with other members of the Howling Commandos, Bucky Barnes seems to draw the most attention. This speaks not only to Barnes’ importance to the group but also to Rogers’ single-minded focus on his friend, a focus that is evident throughout many of his works…

 

***

 

TO: j.martin@nyu.edu

FROM: j.martin@nyu.edu

SUBJECT: Schedule Review Sessions ASAP!

 

Hello class,

This is a reminder to schedule your one-on-one draft review session with me by **tomorrow at 5PM.** If you don’t schedule a review session with me I’ll assume your draft is perfect and needs no revision which, unfortunately, is simply not true.

I’ll be available to meet with you between 2 and 5 PM Monday-Wednesday or during my office hours on Thursday.

To schedule a time, please send me an email with times you’ll be available  and I’ll do my best to fit your needs. Again, please let me know before 5PM tomorrow if you plan to have a review session.

Good luck with your essays!

~Professor Martin

 

***

 

JEN: how’d your review sesh with your art history prof go

BETH: okay

BETH: i mean she ripped my paper a new asshole but ya know

BETH: she was actually really cool about all the queer parts so that was good

JEN: what did she say

BETH: well she said i have to spend less time trying to prove that steve was queer

JEN: why?

BETH: because it’s an art history paper

BETH: not a ‘steve rogers was queer’ paper

BETH: so yeah

BETH: i can still talk about it but i need to tone it down

JEN: i guess that makes sense

JEN: you’ve been putting waaaay too much time into your background research

JEN: i mean you’ve sort of been obsessing over rogers since i don’t even remember anymore

BETH: i really have tho

BETH: i was at work yesterday and i was convinced that one of my customers was steve for like a solid few minutes

JEN: bethhhhhhh

BETH: i know i know i know but he looked JUST LIKE HIM

BETH: and he was cute

BETH: and he left a great tip

BETH: and he was DRAWING jen

BETH: DRAWING

JEN: did u give him ur number

BETH: nah, i kind of have this girlfriend

JEN: is ur girlfriend hot

BETH: oh my god jen

BETH: but yes she is VERY hot <3

 

***

 

**Arctic WWII Aircraft Discovery Confirmed by S.H.I.E.L.D.**

    By Megan Gannon, News Editor | April 22, 2012 7:40 A.M. ET

A Russian oil team discovered the frozen remains of an aircraft last week while on a routine drilling expedition.

Initial reports about the exact nature of the aircraft were vague, but the first local forensics team to arrive at the scene confirmed that the aircraft is significant in size and may have been frozen for up to seventy years.

Further reports are being filtered through the United States’ Strategic Homeland Intelligence, Enforcement, and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) who arrived at the site shortly after its discovery. They closed off the area and have yet to admit reporters.

Earlier descriptions from the Russian oil team describe the aircraft as large, dark in color, and resembling some of the older airplanes used in World War II.

No statements confirming or denying these claims were released until S.H.I.E.L.D. announced yesterday in a press conference that the craft was in fact from the 1940s. No other information has been given at this time.

It is unclear why S.H.I.E.L.D. is present at the scene and no official statement has been released regarding their involvement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [6] The author's name and a vague version of the title of this article have been taken from [this](http://filmschoolrejects.com/features/captain-america-history.php) article about the history of Captain America. The excerpt included in this fic, however, is written by me and is not taken from this article. If you're interested in the way Captain America changed in comics over time, I would still recommend checking out the original piece by Adam Bellotto.  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11941652#return6)]
> 
> [7] If you'd like to learn more about fan theories regarding Steve Roger's depression, I'd recommend [this](http://the-artifice.com/captain-america-depression/) article from The Artifice or [this](http://invisiblespork.tumblr.com/post/93600197874/steve-rogers-depression-and-suicidal-tendencies) meta by invisiblespork.  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11941652#return7)]
> 
> [8] The idea of in-universe films has been going around a lot in fandom, and I love it. Although not strictly related to the film I've described, [MediAvengers](http://mediavengers.tumblr.com/) and the fanfiction [Steve Rogers at 100: Celebrating Captain America on Film](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1599293) are both prevalent voices in the fandom for this topic and influenced my decision to include this part of the fic.  [[return to text](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5181992/chapters/11941652#return8)]


	4. Late April/May

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**14\. “Portrait: Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes” – 1944**

> Artist: Steven Rogers
> 
> Date: 1944
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  7 5/16 in x 5 5/8 in

Description: Another drawing retrieved from Steve Rogers’ sketchbook, this piece depicts Rogers’ best friend, Bucky Barnes, and Rogers’ romantic partner, Peggy Carter, walking together in one of the Ally camps.

 

—

 

 

 

_(The two people take up the whole page: Peggy on the left, Bucky on the right. Full body portraits, side by side. They’re talking together—laughing, even. The viewer is nothing more than a humble observer._

_[His mother had always told him he had a big heart. Then, as he looked at the two of them, as he felt something large and light and unnamable swell in his chest, he knew it was true.]_

_Peggy is all strong, fluid strokes and blended contour lines. She is a powerful figure whose physical traits contrast with the tenderness of her expression, the softness of her lips. Bold shadows emphasize her cheekbones, but also the curve of her mouth, her calves, her chest. There is no doubt in the viewer that Peggy Carter is a beautiful woman, but the artist has not elected to draw her without imperfection. Her face is smudged with dirt, a few flyaway curls have escaped the bun at the back of her head, and small lines mark the corner of her eyes. The result is a different kind of beauty altogether: a human kind of beauty, a real, tangible kind that makes the heart race and ache all at once._

_Bucky is hard lines and shadows. The shading on his face is pronounced, but the light in his eyes offers a balance. They’re so warm and bright, full of some kind of inner joy that commands the attention of everyone around him. A day or two’s worth of stubble darkens his cheeks and brings the line of his jaw into focus. His uniform is rumpled over his broad shoulders. His hair is a mess. Bucky Barnes is the quintessence of masculinity, an Adonis, but there’s mud on his face, and bags under his eyes, and there’s something about his mouth, his lips. They’re plush, round, slightly parted. The artist did not shy away from drawing them as they are._

_[Drawing these two people is like staring at the sun. He didn’t think he could ever love this much, and God does it hurt, but he’d die before he had it any other way.])_

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

Professor Julia Martin

Art History 254

April 23, 2012

Captain Steven Rogers: The Bisexual America Deserves

Of all of Rogers’ works, the portrait _“Peggy Carter and Bucky Barnes”_ has received the most professional analysis and discussion. Many critics point out the closeness of the two figures, suggesting the implication of a romantic relationship between them. However, these analyses fail to address the significance of the third person on the scene: the artist himself. Both Barnes and Carter are oriented towards the viewer, and although they appear to be engaged in conversation, neither are directly facing each other. The symmetry of the piece puts neither subject over the other—Barnes’ height compensates for Carter’s position slightly in front of him, allowing the piece to achieve a dual focus. This perspective puts both subjects firmly in the viewer’s gaze, not in each other’s. When viewed through this lens, the piece is not heterosexual jealousy but rather a celebration of bisexual desires.

 

***

 

TO: j.martin@nyu.edu

FROM: j.martin@nyu.edu

SUBJECT: REMINDER: FINAL DRAFTS DUE SOON!

 

Hello class,

This is a reminder that the final drafts of your term papers are due on **Friday, May 4th at 11:59 PM**. Please submit them on the course website. You’re free to submit multiple versions, but the last one you submit will be the one I grade.

Happy essay-writing!

~Professor Martin

 

***

 

Smithsonian Museum of Natural History

Captain Steve Rogers: A History through Art [Exhibit]

 

**15\. “Portrait: Howling Commandos 8” – 1945**

> Artist: Steven G. Rogers
> 
> Date: 1945
> 
> Medium: Pencil on Paper
> 
> Dimensions (H x W):  5 in x 7 9/16 in

Description: This is perhaps the last piece Steve Rogers drew before perishing in the Arctic. It is the last page in Rogers’ sketchbook to be used—all subsequent pages are blank. It depicts all six of the Howling Commandos around a campfire, perhaps somewhere in the Alps before the fateful mission which resulted in Barnes’ death.

 

—

 

 

_[Six people surround a fire—seven, if the viewer is included. The flames provide a bright central light which extends outward, illuminating faces and emphasizing shadow. The artist's lines become blurred and pale the closer  they come to the fire itself, as though the soldiers’ nearness to each other and has allowed them to fade into a single entity—a single unit._

_But the light also draws attention to the dark._

_(It’s a comfortable night. They laugh—not loudly like they might have on leave or while drinking, but softly, intimately, as close friends do in the dark. In the absurdity of war, each day exists only in the present as soldiers try to forget the memories of the pasts and ignore the uncertainty of their futures. Steve tries to resist this, but it’s hard. It’s hard when they’re going right back into war in only a few hours. It’s hard not to simply let himself get lost in conversation, in companionship, in the light and warmth of the flames. They may be far from home, but this campfire is their hearth.)_

_The drawing’s light center brings an aura of warmth to the piece, but the looming Alps in the background reminds the viewer of the cold and hardship that await.]_

 

***

 

Elizabeth Roswell

Professor Julia Martin

Art History 254

May 1, 2012

The Artwork of Captain Steven Rogers: A Queer Perspective

...

CONCLUSION:

It has almost become something of a tradition to reinvent Captain America for each new generation, to reshape and contemporize him. After all, he is considered to be a symbol of American ideals and the American dream, both of which are things that change from decade to decade. It is possible that a queer interpretation of Captain Rogers’ work is merely an extension of this natural pattern to redefine the past in the context of the present. However, there is also the distinct possibility that the queer interpretation has always been there, waiting for the right day and age to uncover and legitimize it. Regardless of the artist’s original intent, a queer interpretation of Rogers’ work illustrates a new story about politics, sexuality, and gender that sheds a little more light on an area of history that is often overlooked. In an age of acceptance, it is this writer’s hope that new interpretations of history will continue to flourish as we can rediscover the nuances society once forced us to ignore.

 

***

 

 _You'll never know how many dreams_  
_I've dreamed about you_  
_Or just how empty they all seemed without you_  
_So kiss me once, then kiss me twice_  
_Then kiss me once again_  
_It's been a long, long time_

It’s Been a Long, Long Time – Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn

 

_***  
_

BETH: i think i’m done with my essay

JEN: you said that two days ago

BETH: no but for real this time

BETH: i’m on the submit page

JEN: then submit it

BETH: i can’t

JEN: why

BETH: i don’t know

BETH: i’ve never gotten this invested in an assignment before

BETH: i feel like crying

JEN: happy crying or sad crying

BETH: just crying crying

JEN: if you have to wait you can. it’s not technically due until tomorrow

BETH: no, i want to submit it now

BETH: i’m going to click the submit button

JEN: u go babe. click that motherfuckin button

BETH: i submitted it

JEN: YAY!!!!!

JEN: we should celebrate

BETH: i can’t, it’s thursday, i have to work tomorrow

JEN: okay then tomorrow night we’ll celebrate

BETH: sure :)

JEN:  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

BETH: OMFG JEN STOP

JEN: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

***

 

**EPILOGUE**

_It’s the beginning, not the end._

 

***

 

JEN: BETH, can you hear that sound coming from the street?

JEN: It sounds like it’s closer to your dorm building

BETH: I did hear something, but I’m not at my dorm?

BETH: I’m at work

_[Missed call from Jen]_

JEN: beth please answer me, this is really important

_[Missed call from Jen]_

_[Missed call from Jen]_

JEN: beth, please call back, there’s something happening in midtown right now. Are you okay?

BETH: jen, I love you

JEN: beth are you okay? what’s happening?

BETH: I’m okay right now. i’m in the cafe. Something’s happening outside but i

BETH: I hear screaming and guns

BETH: Jen I’m scared

BETH: I know I’m not the best girlfriend but I love you so, so much

JEN: Don’t say that,youre the most amazing person i know. everything is going to be ok. I love you

JEN: can you call?

BETH: no, it’s too loud, and I don’t know what’s happening

BETH: Jen, I’m so scared.

JEN: the news is all over the place.

JEN: beth, they say someone is attacking new York

BETH: oh god

JEN: they’re moving everyone in the dorms down to the basement levels. I can see planes outside the windows, tons of planes

JEN: theres something out there

BETH: i know. i see them

BETH: i love you so much. I don’t know what’s out there, but it doesn’t even look human.

JEN: beth stay hiding, don’t move

BETH: i don’t think i can stay. the window is going to break

BETH: i love you

JEN: text me every five minutes so I know you’re okay

BETH: i’ll try

JEN: I love you so much

BETH: i love you too

BETH: i’m still here

BETH: i love you

JEN: it’s been five minutes since the last text, are you okay?

JEN: beth please

JEN: i called 911 but it said the line is busy

JEN: beth

JEN: oh god please beth

JEN: i love you

_[Missed call from Jen]_

JEN: i love you so much

BETH: they aren’t human jen

BETH: i don’t think i’m going to leave here

JEN: don’t say that beth

BETH: they’re holding us in this big hall. they’re on the balconies they have guns

BETH: i texted my mom

JEN: everything is going to be ok

BETH: i’m scared that they’ll see me

BETH: i have to stop texting

BETH: i love you more than the world.

JEN: beth i love you too

JEN: beth i’m here

JEN: beth

 

*** 

Rescuers searched through fire and rubble all through the night to aid survivors of yesterday’s extraterrestrial attack on Midtown.

No final casualty reports have been submitted, but estimates are well into the hundreds, and the property damage is nearly incalculable. However, recent statements from government officials in both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the White House claim that the results could have been “far more dire” if not for the help of the special task force team known as “the Avengers” who came to New York’s aid. Although many reports are still unconfirmed, it is believed that among the members of the team were billionaire Tony Stark and Doctor Bruce Banner, who nearly destroyed Harlem in 2009 after failed experiments caused him to transform into a green mutant. Some additional reports also claim that long-dead American hero Captain America (known to many as Captain Steve Rogers) was among the fighting team. ...

Reporter Ben Urich spoke with a survivor of the attack yesterday evening. “Captain America saved my life,” said Beth Roswell, a NYU undergraduate student who was working at the 18th street cafe at the time of the attack. “Wherever he is and wherever any of them are... I would just... I would wanna say thank you.”

 

***

 

_The End._

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This fic started out as a random idea scrunched in the corner of one of my planners almost a year ago. Look how far it's come! 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you get a chance, please go check out the artists' masterposts and let them know what you think.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Art for PuggleMuggle's Captain Steven Rogers: A History through Art](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5083783) by [taibhrigh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taibhrigh/pseuds/taibhrigh)
  * [(ART) Captain Steve Rogers: A History Through Art](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5172140) by [Hopeless--Geek (wuzzy90)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wuzzy90/pseuds/Hopeless--Geek)
  * [ART: Captain Steven Rogers: A History Through Art - banner](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5095133) by [Winterstar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterstar/pseuds/Winterstar)




End file.
